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névé

[ney-vey]
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noun

granular snow accumulated on high mountains and subsequently compacted into glacial ice.
a field of such snow.

Origin of névé

1850–55; < Franco-Provençal < Vulgar Latin *nivātum, noun use of neuter of Latin nivātus snow-cooled, equivalent to niv- (stem of nix snow) + -ātus -ate1
Also called firn, old snow.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for neve

Contemporary Examples of neve

Historical Examples of neve

  • The day after his return, then, John set out with Jonas for Neve.

    For the Temple

    G. A. Henty

  • I've been in the business twenty yea's, and I neve' seen her equal.

    The Crisis, Complete

    Winston Churchill

  • Neve foret terris securior arduus ther,Affectasse ferunt regnum celeste gigantes;Attaque congestos struxisse ad sidera montes.

    A Philosophical Dictionary, Volume 6 (of 10)

    Franois-Marie Arouet (AKA Voltaire)

  • In order to cut snow, neve or ice to pile on the flounce, a pick and spade had to be included in the sledging equip meet.

  • In the evening a field of neve was reached and we felt more placid after the anxiety of the preceding hours.

British Dictionary definitions for neve

névé

noun

Also called: firn a mass of porous ice, formed from snow, that has not yet become frozen into glacier ice
a snowfield at the head of a glacier that becomes transformed into ice

Word Origin for névé

C19: from Swiss French névé glacier, from Late Latin nivātus snow-cooled, from nix snow
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for neve
n.

"field of granular snow, firn," 1843, from French névé (19c.), probably from Savoyard névi "mass of snow," from Latin nivem (nominative nix) "snow" (cf. French neige), from PIE root *sneigwh- "snow, to snow" (see snow (n.)).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
neve in Science

névé

[nā-vā′]

The upper part of a glacier, consisting of hardened snow.
The granular snow typically found in such a field.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.